Problem with Airbnb Host Guarantee: hosts beware!!

[Valentina32]

Dear Hosts,

I have been a host for many years and recently found myself in a situation where a group of guests caused considerable damage to my property.

I submitted my request to Airbnb on time and according to guidelines and after two weeks of back and forth where Airbnb asked me to provide a sizeable amount of documents to prove the damage, I was told that my Host Guarantee payment request had been declined as it was not possible to determine the guest's liability for the damages.

This is more than disappointing  as it means that unless you can prove your guest was directly responsible for the damage (by taking a picture of the damage while it is happening? by installing CCTVs in your property?) Airbnb will not cover you. When I raised this point I was told that they are sorry but Airbnb reserves the right to make the final determination with regard to these disputes.

What this tells me is that the Airbnb Host Guarantee is not exactly what they lead us to believe and the deposit they hold for you (which should be held on your behalf exactly for situations like this one) is little more than a joke.

I do not feel as safe leaving my house in the hands of strangers which could damage it without consequences.

Please be careful and assume that Airbnb will not cover for your damages and take extra precautions to protect your property.

If anyone else had similar experiences please share!

Valentina

[Maria11812]

pls message me, so even if you submitted receipts using host guarantee they did not pay you?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

as Fred said : ...... the so called "security deposit" needs to be replaced with a true security deposit!

[Jean-A-0]

Hi there Valentina.

 I had a very similar thing happen to me in August were a young lady spent one night and left. When I realised that AirBnB notified me of the guest cancelling, I went to the property to find 2 fans on the floor she broke on purpose. I sent proof via pics and also a receipt of the cost for 2 new ones. I told the Airbnb manager in charge at the time that 2 new ones will cost 70 dollars. She told me I give you 50 dollars. This is not something you bargain on. These need replacing....

To cut a long story short, I got nothing.

On a different note. I am now travelling to the US for Xmas and New Year where the host is giving me hassles. I booked my reservation first week of March to make sure I will not be dissapointed. Last Monday the 27th November 2017, I contacted the host to see if she will be greeting us at the apartment. Her response was, you owe me another 280 dollars as I made a mistake way back in March. 

She forgot that she gave me a discount and now trying her best to get what she wants. Thank god for the history conversation were it is clearly stated that the payment we made is final and re assured me that I do not nee to pay anything more. In other words, although Airbnb are behind me 100%, they are still not assuring me anything. I called them 6 times to give me answers. My case manager did not even bother to get back to me once.

One agent told me, I hope this won't happen to you again. My answer was, there will not be a next time as I will go through other sources. 

Airbnb are starting to give me the shivers now as I do not trust anything they tell me.

[Peter653]

I would like to point out that it’s two weeks, or until new guest check in. So if you have back-to-back turn over: Airbnb tells you that you’re automatically declined for resolution cases. You’d basically have to cancel on other guests, or get them to accept reservation alterations, if you have other listings to put them in. Airbnb literally couldn’t care any less about their hosts. This is a consistent theme that I am notiticing 

[Kelly149]

@Peter653 on that note, my first ever damage claim happened as I was due to checkin another ABB guest that afternoon during our city's largest music festival.  I called CS & told them I expected to have the claim be allowed to go forward (as the damage was on record with CS and in the guest message thread) even though I would be submitting the estimate for the claim AFTER  the other guest checked in. This was approved quickly (since they didn't want to rehome the guest!) and I allowed the other guest to checkin. I would not otherwise allow a new booking to negate a known claim. It is one extra step but it can be overcome.

[Peter653]

I put everything on record. I spent an hour talking to an agent or three over the phone about this. The trust and safety agent said that since I didn't put in the full claim before the new guest had come in, they wouldn't find my claim eligable and closed the case.

[Fred13]

In the hotel scenario, the hotel holds a ~Credit Card~ as a 'security deposit', as is the case with rental car companies, etc.

In the case of Airbnb, if on a true Security Deposit system, it does make the guests immediately aware that they have indeed paid a deposit which is being 'held' by the host (via Airbnb) and that in itself could serve as a powerful deterrent for reckless behavior. Again, Airbnb will still have to be the ultimate judge and lookout for the scamming by either party, a role normally performed by a credit card company in the case of hotel or car rental businesses.

There is another solution and one that will probably be implemented eventually. In either case, the 'Host Guarantee' title should be changed to 'Host Assistance', which is really what it is, well somewhat. 😉

[Deanne14]

would this same situation occur if you have a deposit from guests? I don't have a deposit on my room rental, but I was considering it if the Insurance is that bad at protecting hosts.

[Kelly149]

@Deanne14 It would be the same either way. Deposit or not, abb is the one who decides if the host will be reimbursed. Whether there is a deposit or not may change if it is the guest directly or abb who pays but nonetheless abb (NOT the host) decides if a reimbursement will happen. 

[Deanne14]

Thanks @Kelly149. I'm disappointed in that. I'm only a month into hosting and I'm not sure I will do this long term. They want hosts to offer $23 a night in my area. I'm at $40. Plus no real host guarantee

[Fred13]

I would not pay too much attention what Airbnb wants, rather what you want. The price tips are only a suggestion, nothing more.

[Jon16]

your price is the price, what would their computer know of pricing. Stick to your guns and provide a good offering and good guests will come.

[Annie-B0]

definately suggest puttin on a high security deposit!!

[Maria1507]

Yeah I too, found out the hard way that the host guarantee was nothing but BS.  In my case, there wasn't dispute about who caused the damage but Airbnb just pick a random figure equal to my security deposit of $100 and said that in their opinion, that was a sufficient amount to cover the damage even though I provided several repair estimates that were over $1,000.  Now I have to either pay out of my own pocket, or continue to look at my damaged flooring.  This is VERY disappointing.

[Kelly149]

@Maria1507 I wonder how many of the rejected claims are for flooring?  

One cracked tile or one scratched wood plank are in themselves very small but in a large room a repair of that one small thing is very expensive. 

Flooring is an easy thing to damage but hard to fix. And if your house is more than a few minutes old abb may say “well, it could be wear and tear”. I wonder...